A Coffee, A Comfy Chair and a Q & A with Author Denise Levenick

I am thrilled today to welcome Denise Levenick to The Armchair Genealogist. Denise is the author of How to Archive Family Keepsakes. I've been talking a lot about getting organized this January. Not only because it's that time of the year, New Year's goals bring it out of us but as well many of you are preparing to write The Family History Writing Challenge. Yesterday, I talked about what a wonderful tool this book will be in helping you get ready to write. Today, Denise and I are going to talk organizing your family history stuff because we all know it can be monster.

Grab a coffee, pull up a comfy chair and join me for a conversation with Denise, as we explore her new book, How to Archive Your Family Keepsakes.

1. Welcome
Denise to the Armchair Genealogist. Here
at The Armchair Genealogist we believe everyone has a story....so tell us a
little bit about how you became ‘The Family Curator.’

Hi, Lynn.
Thanks for inviting me to visit with you at The Armchair Genealogist. I think
we share quite a bit in common, both a love of family history and a love of
writing.

I guess you
could say that The Family Curator was born long before the blog. It seems like
I’ve been the keeper of our family “stuff” forever. Actually, I didn’t inherit
my first family collection until about 1998 when my mom gave me the contents of
her mother’s old trunk. It had been filled to the top with papers, photos, and
all kinds of stuff.

I started
The Family Curator Blog in 2007 as an online web journal as I worked to find
the best way to organize and preserve my Grandmother’s keepsakes. And here we
are nearly six years later, and I’m still working with that incredible legacy.

2. After
reading your book, I can only image that your archives must be picture perfect.
Clearly you are the kind of person who likes an organized environment, have you
always been this way or do you believe it is a learned trait? How can your book How to Archive Family Keepsakes help those of us who are inherently
disorganized with our genealogy stuff?

LOL, Lynn.
As much as I love an organized environment, that’s not to say it’s easy, or
that my archives are perfect all the time.
I find I am so much more productive when I can find the tools I need; I
learned that from my contractor husband. To be honest, my best trick for
getting (and staying organized) is to keep the Big Picture in mind.

I want to
honor my mother’s and my grandmother’s treasures, and I want to uncover the
stories they hold. I can’t do that when everything is scattered everywhere. My
book outlines the process I used to sort my family keepsakes, and then to
organize for preservation and research. Plus, it makes sharing with relatives
so much easier!

3. When I
first sat down to read this book, I didn’t really think I fell into your target
audience. I haven’t inherited a lot of ‘stuff’ from my ancestors. However, I
soon realized this book is written for more than just the genealogist with a
large archive to manage. Can you explain to our readers who all can benefit
from your book?

It’s
surprising what a difference a few years make. I never dreamed I would be the
caretaker of so many family archives, either. It happened slowly. My mother
passed on my grandmother’s things, and then it seemed the word was “out.” I’m
now the keeper of seven family archives.

Although not
everyone is in my situation, any family historian probably has both original
and working documents to deal with. My book offers techniques to help anyone
who wants to move toward a digital genealogy office, wants a simple research
filing system, or wants guidance on how to organize and preserve family
keepsakes.

4. One of
things I know about myself and probably many can relate, I love to hunt for my
ancestors and I love writing their stories, and while I love being organized, I
hate the process. I hate scanning, I hate filing. They are mundane tasks I
can’t get excited about. I get excited about the outcome, and reading your book
excites me to produce that outcome but when it gets down to the work that’s
another story. What do you recommend for
those of us that want to get there but find it a chore? How do we make this
process more fun and something we will want to do?

All I can
say is to keep The Big Picture in mind. I’m with you, Lynn. The thrill of the
hunt is much more fun than scanning and filing. So, make those boring tasks
less of a chore. I get energized when I log into a Scanfest with Miriam Midkiff
at Ancestories.com or Caroline Pointer of 4YourFamilyStories.com. Make a game
of it and post your scanning progress on your blog or FaceBook page. Just Do
It, and then enjoy the results.

5. There’s a
lot of information packed into this book and I can really see how after reading
it through the first time it gives me a lovely big picture of what my archives
could potentially look like. I can also see myself using it as a reference book
time and time again as I acquire more stuff and get my current research in
order. How would you recommend a reader use your book?

Thank you,
Lynn. I really tried to make this book useful to family historians at every
level of experience. If it gives you a “lovely big picture” of your end result,
that’s great. I find that starting with a clear-cut goal is the surest path to
success.

I suggest readers
of my book start where where they are. If
you don’t really have a lot of keepsakes to store, flip right to the section on
working with your research, paperwork, and citations. If you need help storing
artifacts, use the reference section for guidance on preservation techniques.
If you are overwhelmed by mountains of stuff, as I was, you may want to work
through the section on setting up an archive step-by-step. I designed my book
as a handbook and hope it becomes a go-to reference tool.

6. One of
the nice things about this book is it is practical. It really is a hands-on
book. It offers a great deal of tools to work with to get the job done. I’m a
visual person so I like the tangible tools you offer in this book. If I enlisted
the help of only one of the tools in this book, which one would you recommend?

Thanks,
Lynn. My goal was to write the book I was looking for when I inherited my
grandmother Arline’s trunk and thought, “Now what?” If by “tool” you mean which
checklist, chart, or worksheet I find essential, it would have to be the
Scanning Guidelines chart in Chapter 9: Organize and Digitize Your Paper
Documents. That chart grew out of my own need for a handy cheatsheet I could
post over my scanner. It lists archivist-recommended scanning resolution (DPI),
color setting, and format for different kinds of scanning tasks, including
maps, quilts, tintypes, documents, and various photo formats. I still refer to
this chart regularly.

7. Do you
agree that many brick walls, not all but many could be the result of poor
organization? How can one identify if their lack of organization skills may be
the culprit in tearing down those brick walls?

I agree,
Lynn. Anyone who has caught herself viewing the same microfilm or book over and
over can recognize the value of working with a plan. It’s helpful to use the
same approach whether you’re researching in your home archive or in a library:
make a plan and work through it, recording your progress as you go. That’s why
Part 3 of my book: Root Your Research in Strategies for Success includes four
chapters on starting off well-organized and primed to break through brick wall
problems.

8. I spend a
lot of time on this blog encouraging my readers to write their family history.
I know that one of things that holds many back is not really having a grasp on
what they want to write because their research lacks organization, can’t see
the forest for the trees scenario. What would you recommend to a family
historian who wants to get on with their writing quickly but does not want to
spend a lot of time getting the files organized?

Let’s get
creative. Find something – a photo, a marriage license (original or copy), even
a census record. Set it up on your desk and look at it. Let your ancestor’s
life speak to you and start writing. Just start writing.

If you are
worried about the paper piles and mountains of memorabilia, try this trick: buy
archival bankers’ boxes and office supply bankers’ boxes. Carefully place your
heirlooms inside the archival boxes and store them in a location with moderate
temperature and humidity. They’ve lasted decades already, and with care they
should last a bit longer.

Pick up all
the loose paper (we’re talking about working
papers, not heirloom originals) cluttering your office and desk and place them
inside the office supply boxes. Sort and deal with the paper when you’ve written
your first ten or twenty pages. Go back to your desk, look at that photo or
document -- and write!

9. I love
that you address both paper and digital files in this book. I think when we
think archives and keepsakes our mind tends to think paper and collectibles.
How can we marry both our digital and our physical files so we can keep track
of what we have? Should we digitize everything?

It would be
quite a challenge to digitize everything.
I see myself as a fan of less paper
rather than no paper. I love paper. I
love books. They have substance, weight, smell. And books and paper do last a
very long time with care.

My goal is
to digitize heirloom originals to create a Master Copy that will survive if the
original is damaged or lost. I never
discard original heirloom documents. In Part 2: Break the Paper Habit, I review
scanner options, discuss best practices for file formats and file-naming, and
share ideas for organizing the genealogy paper files you decide to keep.

10. The
technology era has brought a new concern in passing on our archives to our
children. For the first time, our children will inherit digital files not just
paper. I think of how many computers must be wiped clean everyday because children
don’t think to save their parent's digital files. What do you recommend we do today to ensure
that our children are aware of what is on our hard drives and worthy of saving?

I’m so glad
you asked about the future of our research; it’s been on my mind lately,
especially since my own mother passed away. No one really likes to talk about
it, but we have to ask: What will happen to our family keepsakes when our own
research days come to an end?

We may have
genealogy research, family heirlooms, and online activity that will all be
orphaned when we’re gone. It’s wise to consider a Genealogy Estate Plan and add
notes to our own estate planning. In Chapter 5: Organize for the Future I
outline how to find a suitable repository if you wish to donate your heirlooms
and research. I’ve also included two useful forms to help you make your wishes
known to your heirs: a Genealogical Codicil Form and a Digital Assets Codicil
Form. These can be used to insure that your work is available to future
researchers, and relieve your family of some difficult decisions.

11. For
those new to family history and just starting their filing system or for those looking
to get more organized, can you recommend a few quick tips they can start today
so everything they research from this day forward will be more organized?

When moving
toward less paper and more digital files, I suggest that family historians
adopt a Digital Birthday: from this day forward working papers are found in
digital format, older papers are still in stored as physical paper.

A researcher
could adopt a Filing Birthday as well. Pick a meaningful date, a birthday or
holiday. Make it a habit to file and organize your papers and research moving
forward. As you have time, work to organize older items, but continue with your
work knowing that if you are looking for an item before the Filing Birthday it is likely to be in an old filing
system, or maybe just a box of loose papers. Anything created after your Filing Birthday should be
found in your new system, what ever that may be.

12. What one
thing would you hope readers take away from your book How to Archive Family
Keepsakes?

My goal in
writing this book isn’t to present a rulebook or standards guide. Professional
archivists are much better qualified for that task. Instead, I hope my own
story – and the lessons I’ve learned – inspires family historians to preserve
their inheritance and encourages their efforts in genealogical research. I can do it, you can too!

Thank you Denise for a great chat. If you have any questions for Denise or want to share your thoughts on organizing your archives be sure to leave a comment. If you leave a comment to today's post, your name will be entered in a chance to win an archival kit. Lucky winners will be announced each Saturday during the tour at The Family Curator.

And by all means be sure to pick up a copy of Denise's book How to Archive Family Keepsakes . You will not be disappointed. Proceeds from the
sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes
during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy
Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

I am really grateful Denise has done the work to create a book that we can use. I have tons of photos and documents that seem to close in on me. Denise didn't mention slides but I have boxes and boxes. Are slides mentioned in the book?

Thanks again, Lynn, for your gracious hospitality for the Blog Book Tour. I love meeting your readers and fellow-writers.

Colleen - To answer your question, "Do I photograph all my treasures?" the answer would have to be a rather vague "mostly." I DO photograph things in groups, and special items individually. When my sister and I needed to clean out my Mom's house and get it ready for sale, I photographed each room, each bookcase, and each closet before we started working. Many items didn't come home with me, but when I unpacked special things, I photographed them and added metadata to help me remember where they came from.

Mary, Barb - Glad to know that you are finding some useful tips along the Tour. Keep reading for more!

J Sutton and Ann -- Chapters 6, 7, and 8 are designed as a reference section with guidelines to preserving and storing Papers, Photographs, and Artifacts. Slides, negatives and film are all included in Chapter 7: Organize Archival Photos; jewelry, china, silver, and other artifacts are included in Chapter 8: Organize Artifacts. Each section lists Care, Storage Solutions, Cautions, and Tips.

I especially like the "Genealogical Estate Plan" suggestion. I believe I've identified a budding genealogist or two among my younger relatives, or at least someone willing to take charge of all the online data and know where all the archives are (and what libraries they've been donated to). I also agree with Denise about the "just start writing" suggestion and I've written an advice post I'll send to you today, Lynn -- as soon as I can transcribe a quotation into it. Denise and I are, so to speak, on the same page there!

I love that idea Denise, about photographing the home and rooms before you begin to move things. Wish I had done that when my in-laws passed. What a great tip. I would recommend this book to anyone who is faced with emptying out their parent's home.

Thanks, Mariann, the Estate Planning is a big help for those of us left behind. And, it's some peace of mind thinking about our own future... I'm looking forward to reading your writing post, too. Always nice to meet fellow writers, and this is a great group here at TAG.

Cheri, Virginia - Thanks for following the Tour. Good luck with your projects!Denise

As a relatively new family history researcher, I'm thrilled to discover this resource. I have been fretting over how I can get my files in order becuase I can't add them to my data if I don't know what I have. I would love to win a kit. Thanks for the great tips! I'll be checking out the book soon!

I can't wait to read Chapter 5! I inherited another cousins' research collection some years ago and have been trying to find a repository for the various publications I received. They are stored in a box in my garage because I have to downsize, again.

What a wonderful inspiration the 'conversation' between Lynn and Denise. So much of it I could relate to but the best comment of all was the one to photograph before dissembling a room. Oh how I wish I'd done that. With photo in hand you could make notes on what went to each family member and know where to see it again if needed for research for your writing. :0) Also, I think you've just inspired a program for our next lineage group meeting. Thanks - as I am the presenter.

My book came in Monday evening so I read the first chapter and did checkpoint 1. I was feeling really good. I decided to stick to it chapter by chapter until I found the one on cleaning up my computer. Yesterday at 6:00 am, I looked at "My Pictures". There were a 2 GB of duplicates. I deleted them and thought maybe I would transfer the photos to my flash drive. The drive is 4 GB. Nope, I have 5 GB's still on the computer. I can't even scan the 20 albums and 4 boxes of slides because I don't have enough space. This is not a complaint because as I learned yesterday, I am not prepared to start this project. BTW, I spent the entire day removing duplicates and went to bed at 10 pm with several folders to go. I have already gotten my money's worth from the book and I have only read two chapters. Thanks Lynn for promoting it and Denise, thanks for for sharing your knowledge.

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